by Moe Zilla

Created on: March 01, 2008   Last Updated: March 02, 2008

"Walk on the Wild Side" show Nelson Algren's real affection for the forgotten people of the world. In "The Man in The Golden Arm," his next novel, Algren would name a character "Sparrow" linking the name to a biblical verse that offered hope for the common man. ("Not even a sparrow falls to earth without God knowing it," the jail warden remembers...) "Walk on the Wild Side" offers a similar message, but also employs a similar irony. It opens with a description of a charlatan priest before focusing on the vagabond life of his poor, wandering son, Dove Linkhorn.

Dove rides the rails, gets conned by a female hobo, and eventually wanders to New Orleans. He's a simple man, moving from one adventure to the next, and his travels among the poor reveal a fascinating underworld. He's baffled by the waitress who charges five cents for a glass of Coke - and even more baffled when she consistently sneaks him a flash of her breast every time he purchases it. The unemployed pity the employed, for leaving their grand ranks of the freest of men. With real wit, Algren describes the people Dove meets - leading him to one fateful encounter.

There's surprising humanity at a New Orleans brothel, where Dove meets both a prostitute, a legless man. The two form a remarkable couple, the dignified amputee dressed impeccably and traveling with pride around the brothel floor on a board with wheels. Eventually Dove steals the affections of the prostitute, and the novel arrives at a strange confrontation. It's inevitable - there will be a fight between the two men. The legless man wheels himself furiously across the floor, delivering painful attacks on his successor as the final expression of emotion.

Nelson Algren was an American original, a story teller, and a genuine friend to the common man. He identified with outsiders - he'd once served five months in jail for stealing a typewriter - and in "Walk in the Wild Side," his sympathies are clear. He doesn't gloss over the desperation or their hunger - nearly everyone is "on the make." But in it all he finds real human characters, almost sensing something noble in the simple details of their lives.

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